Abstract

Is the decade of large scale piracy off the coast of Somali over? What are the lessons from
Somali piracy for maritime security governance? This article revisits the triggers of piracy and argues
for the need of being cautious since the current success in curbing piracy might not be sustainable. An
analysis of the rise and decline of piracy provides an explanation of why the international measures
show success, but document that it is questionable if these will contain piracy in the long run.
Studying the decline of Somali piracy reveals the importance of learning some major lessons for reevaluating
the importance and character of maritime security. Future efforts will be necessary to
increase the quality and efficiency of maritime security governance.